The New Age of Magic
by Superworld
Summary: In a world where Harry is heavily abused by the Dursley's, he escapes only to end up caught in the world of magic. Attending Beauxbatons early and then Hogwarts at 11 years old, Harry possesses great power that his enemies 'know not', but will he find a cause to fight for, will the wizards and witches relying on him be worth saving. Powerful!Harry, Harry/Hermione
1. Prologue

**The New Age of Magic**

Hello everyone, before it all gets underway I thought I'd give a bit more information, for those who want all the surprises and experience it as it goes, move on to the start, for the rest here it is. From a few stories I've read I've been motivated to write this so if there's hints of what you've read before its probably the influence of other great writers out there. I definitely ship Harry and Hermione, so they will be the primary characters, i also like the idea of a close sibling like bond between Fleur and Harry so they will meet when Harry attends Beauxbatons early (he will still end up attending Hogwarts at the normal time). Therefore when the time comes for the Triwizard Tournament they will be reuniting close friends. Ron will be an arse because I don't really like him most of the time and don't agree with him being with Hermione. Dumbledore will be presented unfavourably, how bad I am yet to decide. I don't know what I'm going to do with Snape. Harry will definitely be very powerful and only be matched by Dumbledore and Voldemort. Although he will be slightly more powerful than both of the others, Voldemort's use of dark magic puts him ahead and Dumbledore is very skilled and put on an even footing.

If you read all this, sorry for the rambling, and please, please review and tell me what you like and what you don't, tell em what you want to change or see happen or are looking forward to. Anyways, Without further ado;

Prologue:

An eerie silence spread throughout the entirety of Godric's Hollow that night. There were no sounds of hooting owls, chirping birds, wind or rain. Not even the sounds of the residents seemed to make it very far through the thick darkness that had descended.

If all of this was insufficient in indicating the foreboding encroach of death and despair across the war-torn magical society of England, the fact that not a single star shone in the sky and the moon was absent assured people of such.

In the home concealed from the world, Potter Cottage, the two parents of the young, one-year-old Harry Potter embraced one another as they snuggled on the loveseat in the warm living room in front of a softly burning fire. The child in mention was currently cradled in the arms of his loving mother as both James and Lily looked down upon the centre of their worlds with soft smiles adorning their faces.

Have had the child little over a year ago, the two young parents had been worried about how they would take care of him having heard the horrors of petulant and fussy children and not having a clue what to do about it. Therefore, it had come with great relief and joy for them to find out their beautiful baby boy was rarely fussy and had only cried on a rare few occasions, mostly upon injuring himself.

Despite this, Harry was often seen waddling around the house in search of people to play with and his laughter and giggling had almost constantly permeated the house when he was awake. To Lily's surprise, especially having read so many books in preparation about the development of a young child, Harry had started to speak shortly after 2 and a half months of his birth as opposed to the average 6 and had begun speaking in full - if not grammatically correct or well pronounced – sentences. Unlike Lily, James had simply smiled throughout, saying that their little boy was taking after his mother and wasn't to be outdone by anyone.

After beginning to walk within 4 months, Harry had soon taken to riding atop Padfoot and Prongs whenever he could convince them to change forms, which was quite often given how easily he had them wrapped around his little finger. Just that afternoon Harry had been racing around on his small training broom, chasing Padfoot around the house, only stopping after Sirius had convince Pettigrew to join in which put Harry off his fun.

Ever since he had met Peter, which he had done soon after starting to talk, Harry had always held a disliking for him like no other. James, Remus and Sirius were sure to relentlessly tease the man about it, but Lily had always been concerned with the subdued nature Harry had in his presence which was rarely seen elsewhere.

The next big shock had been on Harry's birthday that just passed. Even from weeks after his birth Harry had already shown subtle signs of accidental magic like redirecting the 'aeroplane' that contained any food he didn't like or vanishing his crib bars to get to visitors that he heard downstairs. James was obviously excited about the potential Harry showed and thought it could be put to good use pranking any guests when Harry got older, but it was nothing in comparison to the excitement that he had felt when Harry had purposely drawn Padfoot to him using a summoning spell whilst riding his brand new broom. Such intentional magic was almost unheard of in people that didn't know about their magic and especially people so young. On top of that, the ability to summon something alive, even more so anything that possessed magic, was very difficult and few could manage. It did help that Sirius wasn't at all resistant to the ability, but it was still spectacular.

In response Sirius had picked Harry up like a trophy and held the giggling child above his head, parading 'his young protegee, prodigy' around the house that had only recently been covered by a fidelius due to Dumbledore's concerns which he hadn't felt need to disclose. Due to the enchantment on the property only Lily, James, Remus, Sirius and Amelia Bones, Sirius' longstanding girlfriend at the time and honorary godmother of Harry along with Alice Longbottom, were in attendance and they had collectively decided to keep such news a close secret.

From that day forward, harry had regularly used magic so naturally that it would put third years to shame with his skill at doing similar tasks to what they struggle to learn. A further revelation that came from this event and those that followed was Harry's aptitude to using wandless magic. Performing magic without a wand, other than the uncontrolled and unintentional accidental magic almost all wizards and witches experienced at a young age, is almost unheard of, even more so than Harry's powers being seen at such a young age.

Almost thought a myth, wandless magic is believed to only be possible for the most powerful of wizards and only for the simplest of tasks, such as weak levitations and possibly a few centimetre summoning charm. With the demonstrations of wandless magic that Harry had shown it was clear that he may never require a wand to do magic and upon reading ancient texts that belonged to the Potter family, Lily had concluded, based on the speculation of wandmakers and powerful Wizards and Witches of over a millennium ago, that it is possible that his magic was more pure in power and more connected to his being than ever even theorised, to have enabled him to do this. Furthermore, the research indicated that the use of a channelling object such as a wand or staff may only hinder his abilities as opposed to aid them as all other witches and wizards required.

Discussing with James about the origin of such texts and the validity of the research, her husband revealed the roots of the Potter family as he had been told from his own father, "The Potter family has allowed few to know of its exact lineage and definitely no one that isn't directly descended from the bloodline or married into it as you are. It has never been written down but my father, Charlus, told me when I came of age that the Potter family came into existence when 3 powerful houses combined, houses considered ancient even in the time they combined which was hundreds if not over a thousand years ago. Two of these families remain unknown even to this day within our family, but the third is the Most Ancient and Most Noble House of Peverell." At this Lily had gasped, recalling the name from a book she had read known as 'The Tales of Beedle the Bard', depicting three brothers being given gifts by Death itself.

"The Peverell story is mostly true in its depiction, although what is not known is that whilst Antioch and Cadmus died soon after receiving their gifts with no heirs to their lineage, Ignotus fathered a son who continued the line of Peverell. A few generations after the son, there was an heiress to the Peverell family, and with no heirs, she married a young heir of the two other ancient families. It was within this matrimony that the name of Potter was raised and the other three left behind. For generations the Peverell's had not claimed their rights as a Most Ancient and Most Noble House, along with the lordship, due to the tales that were known of the family and those who would wish to come for the cloak of Death. It was during this marriage, where only the parents of the first Potter lord were present, as according to the tale passed down through generations, that Lolanthe Potter nee Peverell, a Powerful yet unknown seer made her one and only prophecy, simply stating this, _'In a new age, a war shall be waged, for the future yet undecided, the Lord of these 4 houses, shall choose the path of magic, for all to follow.'_ From that day forth out family knew that one of its descendants would decide the fate of magic and only he shall claim lordship and descendance of the other 3 Ancient Houses."

Hearing this, Lily had broken down in tears before bringing Harry into her arms, clutching him close as she sat on the loveseat where her husband joined her. They both knew the meaning of this, this was a new age, a war had been waged, and the to-be-Lord of 4 houses was clutched desperately in his mother's arms. It had taken over an hour for Lily to calm down enough to speak, "Please not him, we can do something, we can run away from all of this. I want Harry to live a happy life, he doesn't need to fight a war or decide the future." Lily was desperate to protect her son, speaking in short snippets as she stared at her son with fear, yet undeniable love and devotion in her eyes.

James simply brought Lily closer into his side, hugging her in a tight embrace, "All we can do is protect him the best we can. If this is his destiny, we will do our best to guide him and he will live a happy life, no matter what." Lily's often jovial husband responded with utter and irrefutable conviction.

Lily nodded slightly before speaking, "The texts, their predictions about powers, they weren't based on past wizards that had such powers they were about Harry." Lily stated, realising why James' ancestors had done so much research about such things, receiving a nod from James in response.

"Your invisibility cloak!" Lily gasped with shock again, "I always wondered how a family heirloom of that kind had never worn out as most do. James nodded, "It is not made from Demiguise hair and has been passed down from father to their eldest child as the tales suggest."

"What if something happens, Voldemort is still out there, Dumbledore said he's coming for us and that's why he put up the fidelius here. Do they know about the prophecy?" Lily questioned.

"No, the secret has never gotten out, I am 100 percent certain. I don't know what this is about. If Voldemort comes, we will deal with him and protect out boy." James replied stroking the black tuft of hair on Harry's head with an affectionate smile as he looked at him.

Watching James' actions, Lily looked at the peaceful expression on the sleeping Harry's face then spoke in a quavering voice, "And what if we're not here when he needs us, if Voldemort kills us? I can't leave him alone." Lily said with tears in her eyes.

"He won't ever be alone; you know we left a will. He has two wonderful godparents and all of our friends who wouldn't hesitate to care for him as their own, and the account managers of the Potter house are all descendants of the same lineage, they are considered part of our family and have always been very close. Ragnok the 6th will be able to guide Harry when the time comes, if not then his descendants will."

Reassured, yet still shaken, Lily relaxed and just held her son as she was held by her husband, and so they sat, on that cold and dark night, in front of the fire, gazing down at the centre of their worlds.

An explosive shattering sound obliterated any sense of peace or silence that permeated the Potter residence, causing the adults to leap to their feet, turning to the hallway which connected to the front door where the sound erupted from.

"Lily, take Harry and go! It's him! Go! Run! I'll hold him off!" James announced without a shred of doubt in his voice, Lily not having to gain clarification to who 'him' is brushed ff the panic and fear as she had so many times throughout this bloody war.

Racing upstairs with Harry clutched to her chest, Lily placed him down in his crib as Harry looked up at her with fear and panic in his eyes but without any of the tears one would expect.

Rubbing his cheek gently with both hands Lily spoke with a voice full of love, "I love you my dear boy, I'll always love you and watch over you. Be brave, be strong and find love of your own." As soon as Lily finished speaking, she whipped around to face the door as James' shouts were silenced, followed by a deadened thump and approaching, steady and unrelenting footsteps.

As the footsteps stopped at the door, Lily braced herself standing protectively in front of Harry. Blocking the shrapnel from the destroyed door as it was blasted from its hinges, Lily was soon engaged in a battle with the Dark Lord Voldemort, only to be disarmed in seconds against the unmatched might of the monster before her.

Growing desperate she begged, "Not Harry, not Harry, please not Harry!"

"Stand aside you silly girl … stand aside now."

"Not Harry, please no, take me, kill me instead-" Lily cried in agony as she begged for her sons life but refused to move an inch.

Her pleading soon erupted into a piercing scream, followed by a shrill voice laughing.

Then a blinding green flash illuminated the room as a searing pain erupted on the young Harry's forehead, not distracting him from his misery and silent tears as he stared at his beautiful mother lying motionless on the ground, her eyes still staring ahead, but without any life behind them.

Cold, high and cruel laughter filled the room as Voldemort used the killing curse on the infant that was supposed to be the one to finish him, only giving way a split second later to the explosion as huge quantities of magic were released, obliterating the entire room and surrounding areas of the house as the magic rebounded from Harry and destroyed the caster, leaving behind a corporeal from of the monster drifting off into the night.

**Well, That's the first little taste,**

**If your reading, thank you and I hope you enjoy what's to come :)**


	2. Chapter 1

Chapter 1:

The Dursleys prided themselves on their own normalcy, believing themselves to be the naturally dominant people in Little Whining to whom all should look for inspiration. Petunia and Vernon Dursley both loved their son, 'little' Dudders more than anything and would perfectly fine with bending anything in their way to do whatever their petulant and untamed child requested, as difficult a task as that was for the child that could crawl but was too heavy to move very far and still spoke with his entire vocabulary of, mama, daa, food and poopy, all shouted at whoever it was directed too.

Despite their ultimate goal of being the perfectly conforming and natural family they strived for, the pair knew of oddities far more unnatural than any other and believed in the purging of such filth from their pure and perfect world. This filth was magic, the source of Petunia's own sense of inferiority as her sister had been accepted into this world that she had been denied entry to, and her parents hadn't even acted different due to it, still treating the pair the same as ever and equally. This only enraged her as she was always supposed to be better treated and her sister didn't deserve her parents attention. Vernon had been quick to accept his wife's view on the matter when he learned of it and they had been fast to cut off all ties with Lily and her band of freaks when their perfect baby boy was born, not wanting him to be exposed to it at all.

Their perfect world was soon to come crashing down as a fitfully sleeping baby sat in the thin sheets of cloth that had been wrapped around him as he was placed in a basket and left on the doorstep of number 4 Privet Drive in the freezing cold, only kept warm and safe by the unconscious heating charm he had placed on the sheets when the babbling old man had ditched him there.

Opening the door to fetch the paper for her 'perfect' husband, Petunia let out a shriek and softly lifted the basket on the doorstep, taking a closer peek at its contents. Gazing upon the baby she was soon to identify it as her nephew, of whom she'd so far only seen the couple photos she'd been sent by her 'annoying brat' of a sister that seemed intent on remaining in contact, despite her rebuffing each branch held out by her sister.

Looking at the cute angelic face, the largest differences she could notice from the last image she had been sent, was the growth in the tuft of black hair atop her nephew's head and the lightning bolt shaped scar that marred his forehead. Staring at the boy Petunia's anger and resentment of her sister only grew encompassing the 'troublesome imp' before her as she saw the perfect child her sibling had. It was never fair; her sister had always gotten everything she wanted, and she was left working tooth and nail for everything she had. Carrying the basket inside, Petunia set it down on the dining table before lifting up the note left behind. Opening the folded parchment, Petunia read,

_Dear Dursleys,_

_It is with great sorrow in my heart that I must inform you of the tragic passing of James and Lily Potter. Last night in a brutal and disgusting act of terrorism, James and Lily's abode was attacked and they were killed in the act of protecting their child._

_As a result of their actions taken toward keeping Harry safe a protection bonded by blood was generated. As such, if Harry has a home with those related to him by blood, he will be protected by what are known as Blood Wards, a set of defences impassable for his enemies._

_It is therefore my duty to inform you that as the last blood relatives left for the young Harry Potter, it is necessary for you to take him in. Despite this, you will also gain from taking your nephew in as his protections shall extend to your family, warding you against the followers of the now dead terrorist who attacked last night._

_I must request that you refrain from informing Harry of his magical nature and raise him as one of your own in order to protect him from the attention he has gained in our society due to his involvement in the fall of the terrorist._

_Until he has reached his majority at the age of 17, I wish you luck and god fortune in the raising of your kin._

_Kindly,_

_Albus Percival Wulfric Brian Dumbledore, Chief Warlock of the Wizengamot, Supreme Mugwump of the International Confederation of Wizards and Headmaster of Hogwarts._

Petunia was impressed, despite the fact that this man was obviously one of the filth that plagued their world, of the titles he held and obvious authority. Despite this she was disgusted by the letter. With little thought as to the passing of her 'dear sister', Petunia was aggravated by the expectation for her to care for the runt that was dumped on her doorstep. The only thing stopping her from tossing the imp out like last weeks trash was the warning of a threat in the letter, and if there was one thing that she was unwilling to do, that was risking the safety of her perfect dudders, even if it came at the cost of housing the greatly inferior child of her sibling.

Around an hour later that morning, Vernon Dursley came stomping down the stairs, fortunately not waking their sons sleep, and was greeted by his favourite thing each morning, the big and greasy breakfast prepared by his dutiful wife. Despite this, there was something accompanying his breakfast that saw hi develop a red tinge to his complection.

"What is this at MY table?" Vernon almost shouted, sneering at the obstruction to his ideal morning.

Handing the note over to her husband, Petunia sat next to him at the table and awaited in silence for his response. It took a while as Vernon struggled through the note whilst his complexion gradually grew darker and entered a purple tone that displayed his unrelenting rage. Turning to his wife, he yelled, forgetting all regard for their dosing son and without the slightest regard to the soon awake and frightened, yet silent, child on the table, "I don't want this scum in my house. We shall take him back to these hooligans and he can be shipped off to god knows where!"

Cowering from her husbands formidable anger, Petunia replied in a meek voice, "I know it is far from ideal but this protection that is spoken of will keep dudders safe, that is most important here."

After a few moments of silence, Vernon came to his conclusion, "Very well. But the imp will learn his place in this household. As soon as he is capable, he shall clean and cook, maintain the house and any other chores we see fit. In return for his servitude we shall allow him to remain here and try and remove his disgusting taint however we can." The patriarch of the Dursley family spoke with certainty, believing his actions to be virtuous and overly generous.

Agreeing with her husband's judgement, Petunia whisked the child away, leaving her husband to his breakfast which he consumed after tossing the note into the flames.

Unfortunately for Harry, whilst he could understand what his newly discovered relatives were saying he was far from knowing what it meant and so all he took away was that his parents are truly gone and that this was his new home.

Over the next few months, Harry didn't speak a word and refrained from moving much after he had walked over to a toy in the baby room he shared with his cousin and had provoked a wailing tantrum from Dudley as he did something his cousin couldn't and retrieved a toy he wanted. This resulted in Petunia slapping his face and causing a painful sting as she scolded him, ripped the toy from his weak grasp and handed it to his cousin, then put him in his crib.

Despite the harm caused to Harry, this was nothing in comparison to what had happened when Vernon witnessed Harry using his magic to summon a blanket to cover him when he been left bare, other than his old and ripped onesie that had come from his cousin, attempting to quell the shivering cold he was exposed to.

This act had invoked Vernon's angered response, grabbing Harry by the wrist he yanked the boy up, dislocating his shoulder with a wet pop, accompanied by a quiet squeal of pain from harry, and dangling the boy in the air. Whilst spitting in his face, Vernon's purple face yelled, "You disgusting imp, you will never use such filth in this household, or ever again. Using your stupid magic will not be tolerated and is an abomination to nature. Do you understand!?"

After Harry nodded timidly, the movement almost blending in with his now violently shaking body as fear gripped the infant, "Good, now if I witness that again I will make sure you regret it." Vernon said with conviction before tossing Harry back into the crib, causing the 1 year old's head to collide with the barred edges of the crib and being knocked unconscious. Fortunately, Harry's great power and connection to his magic allowed the concussion and dislocated shoulder to heal overnight without lasting damage.

After this, Harry had stopped using the abilities he once found such joy in as he played with his parents and his uncles and aunt (Sirius, Remus and Amelia). As a result of his avoidance of gaining any attention Harry had gone almost unnoticed in the household, often missing meals due to his own self-induced seclusion.

Unfortunately, Harry's 'celebration' of his second birthday 9 months after his arrival was the awarding of responsibilities around the household, which involved cleaning the insides and weeding the gardens to start off with. Harry struggled with these tasks on his birthday as for the day he received more attention from his aunt and uncle than ever before. Despite having wanted loving attention, this was anything but, as Petunia struck him on the legs with a bamboo cane whenever he was performing his chores at any point below her standards.

Despite being able to talk, Harry barely mumbled any words, and those were 'yes sir' or 'yes ma'am' which he had been taught to refer to his aunt and uncle as through being whipped with the cane each time he didn't. Whilst Dudley enjoyed his toys, still knowing few words and not knowing how to walk, Harry was slowly piled with more work, from cleaning the cars, to repainting the exterior of the house, to cleaning and ironing the clothes. Through his tasks, Harry often found himself wounded by things such as splinters and burns but had soon learnt to work through them as his uncle had backhanded him when he had tried to take a break to take care of the injuries.

Even worse was when he had decided to take the risk of healing a deep cut, he had gotten on his hand from putting a stake in the ground as he tied it to a plant to keep it upright. Channelling his power into his hand as only felt natural to Harry, he watched in joy as his hand healed back to perfection, without even a scar, unfortunately Vernon had witnessed this. As a result, Vernon had decided it was time for Harry to leave his room with Dudley and he found his new room in the cupboard under the stairs where he was thrown and locked into in order to heal from the backhands and slaps that he had received from his uncle that left him bleeding and bruised.

This was the first time Harry had cried since arriving as he had slowly healed his injuries with his magic as he was curled in a ball on the cold hard floor of the cupboard that housed only cobwebs and spiders. The next morning, he had been sent straight back to work and so his life continued.

After yet another year, Harry had the joy of his third birthday 'celebrations' which saw him once again trailed around the house as he was instructed to cook and clean afterwards, using a stool to reach the stove and benches as he received more burns to his hands. Avoiding showing his pain or disgruntlement, Harry worked through it, cooking the three main meals of the day, multiple times as they were often rejected, which was accompanied by a sharp slap or two. Between which, Harry had been told to continue his usual chores and did so without the complaints that he knew would only result in more pain.

And so, continued his next year in his life of misery. Unfortunately, along with the added tasks that were placed upon Harry, so did the violence towards Harry grow. What had once been restrained to slaps and backhands, as harry grew older, Vernon begun to hit him with closed fists, causing more damage, whilst Petunia used her bamboo cane more and more often. In many rough cases, Harry had succumbed to fractured ribs, arms and legs, along with cuts and bruises that were painful and exhausting to heal in time for his next day's work.

Furthermore, Harry begun hearing things, things he didn't understand. As Vernon got angry and hit Harry, he was able to hear Vernon saying things about him, horrible things, yet when he looked, Vernon wasn't saying anything. This happened with Petunia as well and it took him month to figure out that the painful and foul things that he heard about him were the thoughts of his uncle and aunt. This only furthered the emotional pain and it was only in the weeks approaching his 4th birthday that Harry was able to block out the thoughts of others and control his newfound ability.

In the privacy of his own cupboard, that was not fitted with a bed made from his wardrobe of Dudley's large, torn and dirty, hand-me-downs, under the thin scratchy blanket that he had been given, Harry was recovering from his most recent and most brutal of beatings and he came to the decision that he wouldn't read people's minds if he could help it as it was wrong and he didn't wish the problems he had being inflicted on another, not even the perpetrators of such actions.

Finally, after the year that seemed to drag on, Harry's 4th birthday saw him greeted with two more gifts, the first, and unplanned by his relatives, was Dudley's new role in shoving him around and hurling abuse at him. The second and far worse left Harry barely healed the morning after and crying from his second time in this horrible place. After having served dinner, of which he was given the few scraps the Dursleys had left for him as per usual, the grossly malnourished Harry retreated to his cupboard where he hoped to be left undisturbed.

This was not to be, as after Dudley had gone to sleep the locks on his cupboard unlatched with a seemingly deafening clang as his uncles meaty fist grabbed him by his shirt and wrenched him from his safe-haven. Next came a strike to the face before his hands were bound to the post at the bottom of the stairs with him facing away from his uncle and aunt. Vernon had then announced his intention saying, "It is time for me to remove the taint from you, as it seems to remain even in this perfectly normal place. You will be quiet, or you will regret it, and you should be grateful for all we are doing for filth like you."

And so, it began, A whip was removed and cracked across his back eliciting a hiss through clenched teeth as Harry held his tears back, a burning fire erupting across his back as his skin already broke away leading his blood to be soaked into the tear in his shirt.

For a year he was beaten and whipped, his treatment growing progressively worse as time went on. A weekly whipping became a daily affair and knives were pulled out for special occasions or when his uncle began to grow bored.

At the beginning, Vernon's actions seemed to be motivated by a real desire to remove the 'taint' that he saw within Harry, but as he experimented and found out which forms of abuse worked best on making him squeal it became a game to the obese man, taking out his own problems on the helpless child.

Food became more and more scarce to him and if not for his almost dormant powers he would have surely passed away one night in his sleep and no one would be any the wiser as to his existence. As his next birthday approached, Harry's dreams were plagued with horrors of his own minds creation as to what his relatives would 'gift' him with this year.

It therefore came as a great surprised when on his birthday, Harry received the nicest pair of clothes he had ever owned, even though they were still Dudley's worn out and ripped hand-me-downs, ones that were still in wearable conditions usually went to charity and not him. He even received an old book bag that had the strap broken, along with a notebook and pencil.

The purpose of which he soon discovered when he was sent to kindergarten with Dudley at the beginning of the new term. Harry, whilst still beaten and having endless chores and little sleep, was happier than he ever had clear memories of being. He would always pay attention in class and was excelling in everything they did, the teachers already starting him on material from first and second years of primary schooling.

He didn't interact much with the other children, them avoiding the impossibly small and scrawny kid who never talked obviously promoted this. But Harry didn't mind, he was finally away from that hell that he was supposed to call home and he learnt so much about everything.

Their teacher, Ms Morley, had taken a liking for Harry and always took care of him when he came with scraps for lunch, and helped him in his further study. After finishing his pencil, and later his notebook, she was soon to replace them. Such kindness Harry had never known, and he was overjoyed every day upon being thrown from the car in front of the kindergarten.

The term passed too fast for Harry's liking and by the end of it Ms Morley was calling him a genius, Harry not understanding why, but it was due to his completion of third year primary schooling already. He had also taken up the hobby of spending his break time sketching anything that came to mind in his sketchbook that Ms Morley had given him upon seeing him doodle in his notebook.

Further to Ms Morley's astonishment, Harry was able to create sketches so realistic that she had to look twice to make sure, and she had even gotten one framed to hand on the wall, the drawing depicting rolling hills of the English countryside with a small yet cosy seeming house perched atop one of the hilltops on the right, the sun dipping below the horizon. Even in the greyscale that it was drawn with, Harry only using his pencil, it seemed almost like it could come to life.

It was therefore with great sadness that Harry's happiness was crushed by his relatives upon the evening where parents were invited to discuss their children's experience throughout the term. When sitting down with Ms Morley, Vernon and Petunia had been exhilarated to here how their young Dudders was a child genius and were excited to hear that he would without doubt gain entry into whichever prestigious school he wanted.

Therefore, it came as great shock as their teacher slipped 'Dudders' name in, believing she had somehow mistaken the name when she said, "young Harry is such a pleasure to teach, with his endless thirst to learn and enthusiasm to match." When she continued this trend, dread entered his uncle and aunt as they realised what was happening.

The blatant torture he received that night for 'hindering their angels learning' was something that would never leave his mind, and likely the scars would never leave his body. He had spent the term trying his best to avoid anyone seeing his everlasting bruises, cuts and scars, learning not to flinch despite the pain of often broken limbs as to not get noticed by anyone. After that day he had been fortunate is was a holiday because he couldn't help the tremors of his body as it attempted to overcome the torture as he lugged his way through the day, completing his chores as best he could.

When he finally returned to school it was a welcome respite to the daily torture which his uncle and aunt now had to avoid as to 'not give away his rotten nature'. His teacher Ms Morley, as observant as she was over her student was unable to perceive Harry's meticulously concealed pain, Harry knowing what would await him should someone find out. Despite now failing the greater majority of his work in class in order to fade into the shadow of Dudley's admittedly pathetic achievements, Harry still worked with the teacher throughout the rest of the school year, in the end having finished the greater majority of work that was taught in all of primary school, much to Ms Morley's confusion due to his failing in regular work.

After the kindergarten let out for summer holidays, Harry was plunged into the darkness and despair of his uninterrupted stay in the hell hole of 4 Privet Drive, Little Whining. The endless chores, abuse from all his relatives, both physical and verbal, drove Harry deeper into his despair than ever before, and he had repeatedly considered whether it was better to stick it through and make it out or just end it all here. His greatest motivation to keep going was his eventual return to school, and the safe haven he had found there as he goes unnoticed by most.

Whilst many would be disappointed, Harry was relieved to hear that due to his failing grades, and uncles insistence, he was being forced to repeat the year of kindergarten he had already been through.

Returning to Ms Morley's class, Harry had spent the next year enduring the ceaseless punishment that accompanied his mere existence, yet also began his study of secondary school education, finishing the first three years from reading and talking with his teacher alone, although he still forced himself to fail the few pieces of assessment given to him in class.

Regardless of his failing, this year Ms Morley had been very insistent on Harry's moving up into first year of primary school and wanting to avoid any attention possible, Harry's aunt and uncle had soon folded to her demands, taking out their anger in the usual beatings of the defenceless child they held captive.

Primary school had only gotten worse and worse as the other children stopped not taking notice of him and only saw a soft target, adding more abuse and mistreatment into Harry's life. The new teacher being one with little regard for the people he teachers and a mind solely focused on his next pay check, resulting in Harry only learning from his new favourite place, the library.

He had found peace between the aisle of books, heavily laden with knowledge yet to be found. Reading had granted him the ability to extend himself and learn more than he had ever before known, not restricted by the necessary aid of others that had burden him in the past. Furthermore, the librarian was both kind to him, giving him snacks as he stayed back after school each day in order to read and escape the Dursleys, much to their anger, and she was great at seeming scary to those that would disturb her domain, meaning none of his usual bullies, including his worst, Dudley and his 'gang'.

What had begun as a purely academic quest for the young boy had evolved upon the librarians insistence that he read an old book she had enjoyed that she had found left in her house beneath a bed when she had bought the place off an eccentric couple who had recently had a child.

'_The tales of Beedle the Bard' _had Harry engrossed, with each page there was a trove of new amazing things to read and imagine and secretly he had hoped that he was like some of the people in the book, using amazing powers he once thought he himself had possessed despite such beliefs being thoroughly beaten out of him.

He had done many sketches in his now almost full sketchbook of himself wearing billowing robes and using magic to help those who couldn't protect themselves and for an unknown reason he felt like the wands were unnecessary, instead depicting himself with outstretched arms, pure magic flowing around his hands in a wild yet contained manner.

Despite the joy he had found deep within the library of his school, it was soon to come to its inevitable close, as did all happiness in Harry's life, giving way to more pain, something he had practically become numb to after the years, much to his relatives' chagrin.

At this point, in the summer after Harry's first year of primary school, Harry's strength to survive both his injuries and lack of nourishment came solely from his magic that was maintained by his unbreaking will to find the light that he faintly remembered within memories of being held by his parents, one of his few recollections being the soft smiles on their faces as they peered down at him.

Unknown to him, his magic had grown, with its constant use due to the abuse of his family having the opposite affect from what was intended. Strengthened by its use, Harry's connection grew, and his magic became more natural to him, flowing through him without thought as any person's blood would. At this point his magical power rivalled that of a full grown average adult wizard or witch, the only thing lacking was the skill to use it that adults were taught through their schooling.

As Dudley had grown older, he was physically stronger than Harry and far larger, having been fed an exuberant amount all his life compared to scraps that wouldn't sustain a common rat. As such Harry had only gained another source of physical and emotional abuse to which his body had to repair from.

It was upon the eve of his 7th birthday that Harry finally broke, In a fit of anger after Dudley had thrown him down the stairs and broken his leg, Harry's often suppressed magic surfaced instantly healing his leg, snapping it from its awkward angle back into place before he stood and threw his approaching cousin back up the stairs and through the wall at the top into the spare and empty bedroom.

Having already approached at the sound of conflict Petunia and Vernon were out of their minds in rage seeing the freak harm their child with his taint. Harry still reeling in anger at the comment Dudley had made before throwing him, "You're such a stupid freak, just like your useless, weak parents. No wonder they dumped you, the idiots are probably as retarded as you." When Vernon grabbed his arm preparing him for the beating and whipping that would make the others seem like kindness, Harry banished him through the coffee table in the living room behind him and onto the floor where he was knocked unconscious immediately.

Petunia looked fearful and, as her fright and anger warred inside her, she stood frozen. Taking this opportunity, Harry made the decision that would forever change his life and future.

He ran.

**Thanks for reading and I'll see you next chapter :)**


	3. Chapter 2

Chapter 2:

Harry ran straight towards the front door, having nothing to take with him, and when arriving at it he didn't bother opening it, instead turning it into kindling with a blast of unrestrained magic. Racing down the street, Harry had already made it the 200 meters down the street where he turned a corner before Petunia made it out to look around, seeing nothing and instead choosing to call an ambulance and attend to her family.

Without thinking, Harry had for the first time called upon the full power of his magic and enhanced his bodies strength allowing him to run faster than ever before, and he refused to stop. As he ran, more and more images flooded through his mind of the horrors he had experienced in the last 6 years that he was now running from; beatings, verbal abuse, isolation, near-starvation. The images refused to stop and only fuelled the soon-to-be 7-year-old.

Running from the outskirts of Little Whining, Harry entered into a forest and kept going, not being tripped by the roots and shrubs that littered the ground. After close to 2 hours of running, Harry had yet to slow down and his thoughts of the Dursleys finally expired and he began to think about his life before then. Memories of a cuddly black dog, along with a kind looking and loving woman filled his mind. Then he thought of another man that seemed older in weariness yet physically the same age who always wore a kind smile and played with him whenever he asked. And then he thought of them, his parents, and for the first time since he remembered, he felt the light, the love that he had once been looked upon with and held with.

These thoughts filled him with a completed feeling that he had never imagined before and as he saw the darkness of the night receded in the forest around him, he lifted his arms to see them glowing golden. Not slowing down in his running, Harry seemed to grow lower to the ground and his speed increased yet again. Soon he found himself going faster than he thought imaginable.

It wasn't until the first light of dawn stretched across the sky that Harry finally slowed, eventually collapsing in a heap and falling into the deep embrace of sleep on the bank of a large pool of water that was being fed at one end by a softly trickling waterfall that flowed over mossy rocks.

It wasn't for a little over 24 hours that Harry finally awoke and stretched out, the memories of his escape filtering through his mind. Looking at his surroundings, Harry found himself fascinated by the detail that he saw his surroundings with, not only not seeing the cracks that usually filled his sight from his ill-repaired glasses but seeing everything in detail like he would if staring close up.

Taking in his surroundings, Harry tentatively approached the water that he had fallen asleep at the edge of and peered into the still, clear water, seeing his reflection only to squawk in surprise at his appearance as he jumped back. Fearfully reapproaching the water, he looked at himself in greater detail, now noting what he appeared to be.

He seemed to have the upper body, including wings, of a pure, white eagle along with the lower half of what seemed to be a powerful, golden lion. As the shock left his system, Harry was in awe of his new body and ran in a few circles, catching glimpses of himself whilst he tried to grab his tail that flicked about behind him. Settling down, laying on his belly, Harry thought about his situation.

Whilst having this form was cool and he thought he would come to love it he was quite small, at least at the moment, and whilst he felt strong and powerful, he was a human first and foremost and was worried that he mightn't be able to turn back into one. Reflecting on the magic he had previously used, Harry decided to do similar to what he had before and focussed on his desire to return to his original form. This resulted in a golden glow surrounding him, although far softer than the bright light that had emitted him whilst running before, and he found himself back in his original state, as confirmed by his reflection in the water.

Looking around himself in wonder, Harry relished in his newfound freedom from the suffocating confines of Privet Drive. He now found himself in a small clearing that edged onto a large pool of crystal clear water, a light breeze drifting through the trees and along his uncovered forearms, alerting him to the chill of the morning.

Finally beginning to come to terms with his new situation, Harry for the first time that he could remember, released the tightly bound dam that held back his 'freakishness' that he had kept under lock for so many years. Rather than the violent outburst that he had expected due to the straining he had always felt upon his makeshift barriers, Harry experienced the most magical thing he had ever witnessed. A golden glow flowed out of him and weaved into the environment, the grass turning greener, the water flowing more calmly, and previously dead seeming tree on the edge of the clearing rejuvenating with deep green leaves sprouting from what had looked to be dead branches.

The forest seemed to sing and as Harry left his barriers down the exuding golden aura faded into a bright emerald green that seemed more peaceful than everything. Lifting his hand to run through the aura, Harry felt the energy flow over his palm and slip back down towards the ground and it simply felt 'right'.

Smiling a broad grin, the likes of which hadn't been witnessed upon his face for over half a decade, Harry slowly stood on his feet and realised that along with his release of energy the aches and pains that his body had grown adjusted to always feeling, had faded away. With a determination the likes of which no child should or would ever have, Harry swore to learn and embrace his 'freakishness' that had saved him from his torturous life.

Before he knew it half the day had passed and the sun bore down into the clearing, ridding it of the stretched out shade of surrounding trees as it shone overhead. Being brought back to the present by the sweat trickling down his forehead, Harry moved back over to the water where he cupped some of the cool water in his hands and slurped it down with a refreshed sigh.

Looking back through the trees, he pondered how he was going to sustain himself alone in the seemingly endless expanses of the forest, but rather than the expected response of fear and panic, Harry knew anything would be better than before. As a result, he thought back to the form that he had adopted the night before and allowed the energy to flow through his body freely in response.

Soon the young boy was surrounded in a familiar golden glow, fading to reveal the same small creature that seemed to be the amalgamation of a lion and an eagle. Taking the time to evaluate his animalistic form, Harry presumed that he now stood at a height of around 2 feet as opposed to his normal 3 and a half foot height that whilst taller, was below average for his age group at school. Despite the smaller height, given the elongated state of his body he still was a similar size, yet this form seemed to have greater despite showing similar signs of malnourishment given the gaunt nature of his lower half, looking sunken and sickly.

Shaking his head, resulting in a feather falling from his neck, Harry raced off into the trees, following the smell the seemed to call out to him, permeating through the trees. Soon he came to the source and even from fifty feet away, he could make out the large fat rat that scampered away. The rat whilst fast was far from quick enough as the larger creature pounced on it, sinking its sharp talon forefeet into its flesh.

Returning to the clearing, Harry tore apart and consumed the rat and was surprised to find himself not detesting the act, although justified this with his more animalistic tendencies within this form. Finishing the rat he splashed in the edge of the water pool, washing away the grit from his feathers and hide before returning to the land and transforming back.

Now back in his human form, Harry realised with a shock that his glasses were absent, and, in a panic, he reached out for the ill suited fixture that he had relied upon so heavily, only to find them absent yet his vision functioning better than ever before. Getting over this next revelation, Harry then found how much more energy he felt after the unorthodox meal and found himself feeling far more satisfied than he had felt in a long time.

For the next couple weeks Harry continued in a similar routine, sleeping often in exhaustion but feeling his body in both forms growing physically stronger and seeing it from his reflection in the water. Dedicated to strengthening himself from the weak victim he had been to someone that could protect himself, Harry didn't once stray from his efforts.

Despite finding himself far more comfortable in the forest now he was in for a rude awakening as his role as a predator was put in question 3 weeks after entering his new world. As he was out once again, hunting for something to eat, Harry had just caught a juicy looking ferret only to turn and find himself face to face with a wolf with brown shaggy hair, large razor sharp fangs beared and a look of bloodlust in its eyes.

Backing up slightly and dropping his catch, Harry surveyed his situation; escape was unlikely, despite his speed in this form the larger wolf would likely move just as fast, making friends was not an option given the look in its eyes, so it seems like a fight is the likely option. Moving to his side, Harry and the wolf began to circle for a while before the beast lost its patients, leaping forward and slashing a claw at Harry's neck, only catching the side in a shallow gash as Harry swerved to the side, landing a vicious wound on the other foreleg of the wolf.

Harry's razor sharp beak easily sunk into the flesh of the wolf and tore back a chunk of flesh before throwing it aside. Leaping back the opponents reassessed their situation and despite the odds seeming to have turned, the aggressive wold moved back into an attack, evading to the left before moving in to land a bite against the lower, lion-like, portion of Harry's form. Unknown to Harry, his hide was far stronger than other creatures, especially in his lower portion, although given his juvenile nature the wolf's sharp canines still sunk into him, drawing plentiful quantities of precious blood from the wound.

Pouncing away using his far stronger hind legs, the wolf was flung off, only to have Harry rapidly pounce on its side, sharp claws digging into its side and foreleg as it was trapped on its side on the ground. Ending the fight, Harry tore out the wolfs throat using his sharp beak before backing away. Shocked by the actions he was forced to take, Harry was only able to briefly acknowledge his success in finally protecting himself before he picked up the ferret he had previously caught and retreating, as fast as his injured body could take him, back to the clearing.

Reaching his newly appointed home, Harry limped into the water, still in his animal form. Once in the water he relaxed and let himself float slightly in the shallow water as his wounds were cleaned and slowly healed as his internal energy worked its way through his body.

After hours of laying there, Harry had eventually gathered back his strength and lumbered out of the water, shaking it out of his fur and feathers before feasting on his catch of the day.

After his encounter with the wolf, he was often more careful as he traipsed through the forest, remaining alert for threats whilst being far stealthier, as despite coming out victorious, the fight very well could have ended far worse for him.

With the further motivation provided by his near-death experience, Harry decided that now that he was beginning to recover, physically at least, from years of abuse and neglect, he would start working on strengthening himself.

With little knowledge of how to go about such a thing having been available to the 7 year old previously at school, Harry was working off of a show he had seen Dudley watching about getting fit through the slits of his vent under the stairs, obviously Dudley had been munching down on doughnuts and chips simultaneously at the time.

As a result, each day as the morning sun would rise, Harry would get up and do push-ups, sit ups and run laps around the clearing and large water pool, then again, he would repeat this at midday and dinner. In between these times he would go out hunting for his food in the morning, and in the afternoon he had decided to go and collect roots, leaves and berries that seemed least harmful to consume, having overheard Petunia boasting about how a healthy and rounded diet was what made 'her boys so strong' when she was entertaining guests.

As time wore on, Harry found himself thinking less and less about his time with his relatives and more about his new life and the future that would now await him. This leading him to wonder if there were any others like him, although regardless of his curiosity, he wasn't yet prepared to venture out of the forest and only would when a time came that he believed that he could defend himself if attacked.

After almost three months had passed of Harry living in the wilderness he had changed greatly, not only escaping his malnourishment and severe bouts of trauma that occasionally left him blacked-out or violently shaking, he also had developed a physique unparalleled by any others his age, formed from daily training and an more ideal diet.

In his human form he had grown significantly to a slightly above average height of 4 foot 3 inches, his arms and legs had the beginning of forming muscles visible and his unruly hair had grown out slightly from the short crop he had been forced to keep to a few centimeters length at which it only just started to droop at the tips, not growing any longer much to Harry's wonderment.

Although he had undergone large transformations in his human form, Harry's animalistic form had changed far more, having gone from a small figure to 5 feet tall and more significantly, his lion portion was now packed with visible muscles as well as the eagle part, although less noticeably. Even with the size of his muscle in his other form, Harry was amazed by the sheer power and speed he was capable of, running faster than any animal he had witnessed, and when he was mucking about he had accidently knocked a tree over after launching himself off it with his hind legs.

It was one late afternoon as Harry was sitting in the shallow water, reflecting upon everything as he ate a few blackberries he had acquired off a bush, looking at his reflection that he decided he would now spend his afternoon and nights focused on his powers that he had discovered, thinking that if he went to find others with this power that he would have to prove himself capable if he ever wished to be accepted, unlike how he had been shunned everywhere he went so far.

As a result when it came to the afternoon after collecting a few edible roots the next day, Harry had sat cross legged in front of the water and reached inside himself, feeling out the energy within himself and then holding out his hand and willing something to happen. Much to his disappointment there wasn't so much as a slight breeze in the air or spark from his body, but undeterred, he continued.

It wasn't until several weeks later that he managed to achieve something with his energy, having been frustrated with his lack of process, Harry had entered his almost meditative state that day with unspent anger and as a result when he held his hand out he imagined destroying whatever was in front of him, only to open his eyes in shock upon hearing a loud crack that rang through the forest.

Taking in the sight before him, Harry looked upon one of the large boulders that lay next to the stream that ran into the pool, now having been cracked into two and laying apart. Amazed by his achievement it took him several more days yet in order to understand how he had done such a thing, finding out that it was not simply the motivation of emotion that had allowed him to use his energy but rather a defined intent.

As such this led him to practice moving the water around in the pool before him, making ripples and then alter shapes and even levitating small spheres as he became more in tune with his actions. It wasn't until 2 months after his undertaking of his work that Harry was able to start doing things without meditating and slowly drawing out his powers. Energy now seemed to settle itself comfortably just beneath the surface and he was able to call upon it by waving his hand and focusing on his intended effect.

Despite Harry's disappointment that he couldn't perform such feats in his animal form, he found that he was now able to do things like levitate objects, blast most things apart, heal any small injuries he obtained and more whenever he needed. Further exploration led to the discovery that if he placed more energy into what he was doing he could have a greater effect, unfortunately discovered when he tried to drain himself, forcing his energy all out around him, making everything that wasn't firmly attached to the ground swirl around him in a tornado of levitated object before passing out for what he assumed was at least 2 days.

After all that he had discovered, Harry had finally made the decision that it was time for him to venture out and claim his own life in the world, finding more like him. As such he set his plan out to leave at the end of the week taking his last few days to enjoy the peace in solitude and independence he had gained from his stay in this forest and clearing.

As the day drew near, Harry had once again bounded out in his now 5 and a half feet tall animal form, racing through the trees and searching for his new day of prey. As he soon had picked up the trail of what seemed to be a ferret, Harry was stalking closer to his prey and as he prepared to pounce he was jarred by a huge rack that sounded like rolling thunder as it echoed through the forest, sending birds flying.

Before him, the ferrets head was blown to shrapnel with a small metal ball left behind. Fear driving the still young boy who had seen the power of these weapons on the TV as he cooked his 'family' dinners, Harry moved hastily from the clearing, although not quickly enough to stop the hunters from noticing the white and gold blur passing through trees, the group sending off 4 more shots into the trees.

One of the bullets nicked a tree blowing it up into wooden splinters, the other three though slammed into the exposed flank of Harry's lion portion. Harry continued off into the forest, rapidly losing the hunters as he moved at impossible speeds. As he limped into the clearing, Harry was shaking in fear and when he made it to the water, he was afraid to look.

Pulling up his courage he turned his neck to peer at his side which was emitting an admittedly lower level of pain than he expected. Finally looking at the wound, Harry was shocked to find that his hide was so strong the bullets had failed to penetrate his skin, instead only leaving the damage of a harsh impact against the strong muscles, akin to one of Dudley's haphazard punches, Harry easily brushing off the almost familiar pain.

Despite his successful escape and minimal injuries, his physical exertion and the fading of his fear prompted adrenaline rush left Harry exhausted, motivating him to give way to a deep slumber as he curled up in his animal form.

Waking up the next morning feeling far more refreshed, Harry wandered over and began drinking the fresh, cool water through his beak, only noticing when pulling back how small he seemed. Turning his head around as he could only do given his long eagle neck, Harry was shocked to find his body small again, only the strong muscles still present, despite on a smaller scale, indicated that he had not awoken in the past somehow.

Transforming back into his human form, Harry let out a sigh of relief when he discovered that he was still the same as he should be. Far more relaxed about his new condition, Harry allowed himself to transform into his other form, focusing on the larger form he had grown into.

Once successfully transformed into the imposing 5-and-a-half-foot tall predator, Harry then focused on the smaller size he had just taken. When that didn't work, he tried again, and again, soon deciding to enter the same meditation he had used to learn his powers in his other form in an attempt to succeed. His new strategy proved more effective as through drawing large amounts of his energy he was able to change into the small form he had previously had, even going as small as only a foot high. Resizing himself, Harry attempted to become larger, excited by the possibilities, although after 3 hours of attempts he found himself incapable to his only brief disappointment.

Finally returning to his human form, Harry found himself exhausted from his changing size, far more so than he expected, and such quickly ate a few of the berries he had stored in a hole in a nearby rock as his reserves, quenching his hunger, and then succumbed to rest.

It was another few days until Harry had managed to build up his skill at changing sizes but had soon found that it was a draining process and he could only grow to a smaller size that his current full form. Deciding that it wasn't something to be used in haste but only for deciding what sized he wanted to be when he morphed, Harry decided the time was here to depart, already late from his previously proposed time.

Therefore, as the sun peaked over the horizon the next day, its first rays filtering through leaves and sprawling across the cold forest floor and curled up sleeping form of Harry in his full sized animal form, Harry rose to his feet, morphing into a human form and left in a random direction, excited for what his future would hold.

**Well, this is the first chunk I've written.**

**There's more to come soon I hope, for those who've read thus far, thank you**

**Please leave a review letting me know what you liked or didn't like, please tell me of any mistakes, and most importantly share any ideas you have of things you want to happen.**

**Thanks again and until next time :)**


	4. Chapter 3

Chapter 3:

As Harry trekked through the forest that he had stayed in for almost 6 months his mind wandered, contemplating all that had changed for him since his dramatic escape from his own personal torture. As he got further from the clearing that had housed him all this time, Harry began to ponder what was next for him.

It had been obvious to him that his strange powers were not commonplace in the world, especially given the Dursley's insistence that his 'freakishness' was foul and unnatural and demonstrating the necessity for it to be beaten out of him. As such he came to the conclusion that his next step would be to attempt at finding others like him, and there he may be able to find a home of some semblance or maybe a little more about his parents or their friends that he had recently been having dreams of, dreams that were from a time that he would undoubtably say were his happiest.

Despite knowing clearly that not all dreams were true, as he was painfully aware of having to wake up from them in a cupboard of pain and fear for so long, Harry was aware that he could be imagining these images but something told him deep down that it wasn't the case. Instead he wanted to find out more about his dad that could turn into a magnificent stag, the man with black shaggy hair that turned into a dog, the woman that seemed to like the friendly dog man, the other older seeming kind man and of course, his mom.

He knew without a doubt that his parents were no longer around, having heard often enough of their death from the goading of his relatives and the dreams of screams and flashes he had that involved them. Despite this though he wished to know of them and also find the other three that had seemed to look upon him with love of their own, the likes of which he had never felt for himself.

Lost in his thoughts, Harry soon had to shield his eyes as he broke the shadows of the trees, coming out of the forest to the sight of rolling green hills, along with a few small houses in the distance. Setting his goal of reaching those houses, Harry ran freely across the hills and was soon entering the outskirts of a small country town that had a beaten asphalt road running through the center.

Deciding that here was good enough to be an introduction back into the world of man, Harry wandered into the town and soon found himself in front of the few shops present within the town, drawn towards the fresh grocer which had a large collection of juicy looking fruits on display out the front. Inspecting a particularly appealing looking pile of green apples, Harry jumped in shock as the elderly owner of the shop approached him.

"Hello young man, and where would your family be?" The kindly man inquired in a jovial tone.

Harry took a few moments to find his voice, having not spoken a single word aloud in some time, "Umm, they – they're not around here sir." He spoke in a surprisingly meek voice, losing his confident stance.

Frowning, the man responded, "Well that won't do little man, I guess we'll have to find them. Would you like to sit with me at the counter whilst I give them a call?"

"N-no s-sir. P-please, I'm ok, I don't need them." The man's eyes widened slightly at the anxiety shining through the child's voice and facial expression.

Continuing in a worried tone the man addressed Harry whilst kneeling next to him and placing a soft hand on his soldier, "We all need our families when were little. Don't worry, I'll get them here to pick you up and you can be on your way."

Harry began to panic internally, attempting to school his expression in order to not give away his vulnerability, "I-I think our car is parked just down the s-street, I'll go now." Harry said with his head bowed, thoughts of his relative hitting him with a force he hadn't experienced for months.

Not being fully confident in the boy's words but not wanting to involve himself too much in others business, the man decided to send Harry off on his way.

"Here, take this and run along now, if you need me, I'll be here all day." He said holding an apple off the top of the pile out for Harry to take.

Relieved by the proffered escape, Harry gently grasped the apple and gave a faint smile to the man before running at a light jog down the street and out of sight. Turning behind the last building in the long row, Harry sunk against the wall until he hit the ground, breathing deeply and refocusing his addled mind.

The more he thought of his encounter, Harry came to realize that if he continued to remain in the area where his relatives were, the more likely he was to be caught and taken back to them, even if they didn't want him.

Steeling his resolve, Harry sought out a solution to his problems. He contemplated the potential for him to escape upwards into Scotland but as he thought it through, flashes of him being dragged back down to his tortur- relatives, flashed through his mind.

Similar thoughts continued to bounce back and forth in his mind as he slowly stood up and began to wander down the long road that led into the town, deciding to find out what was next along the way. As his mind sifted through the limited information that it had available about the lay of the land and where he could go and not be found by _'them', _Harry remembered how the Dursleys had once taken a trip to France after dumping him at the odd Mrs. Figgs' house and upon asking the strange woman how they were getting across the water, she said they were taking the train. Recalling his previous confusion as to how a train could travel through the water, Harry thought of what he had discovered before.

Yes, there was a tunnel that went between the two, under the water, that was what Dudley had raved about as he walked back through the door before spotting him and decided he was in need of something to kick after his absence.

Flinching and shaking his head to remove the foul memory from his forethoughts, Harry continued to consider the idea of travelling to France and trying to find people like him there. If he went there, there would be little chance he would be taken back to his relatives as no one would have expected the young boy to have made it there.

As with everything, he soon encountered the issue of how he would manage in a country where a different language was spoken, but decided that he would just have to learn as it wasn't like he hadn't already learnt many things in the pursuit of escaping his relatives. As he continued to walk, Harry began fantasizing about living in France, a world away from his troubles here and his past.

Realizing he wasn't going to make it anywhere soon at this pace and seeing that the sun had already peaked in the sky, Harry made the decision to transform and find out wherever he was heading sooner rather than later. Having finished munching on his apple whilst his thoughts drifted, Harry tossed the core into the tall grass growing wildly beside the road before transforming and leaping down behind the grass, away from the sight of any passersby, falling into a rapid run, almost as fast as the occasional passing car, but limited by his smaller size, taken to avoid notice.

It was only by the beginning of sunset that Harry found himself, once again, approaching civilization, this time the town appearing far larger, confirming Harry's hope that he was moving away from the scarcely populated countryside. Stalking through one of the now dark alleys, Harry soon found his dinner in a plump rat, scoffing it down before returning to his normal appearance as he exited the dank alleyway.

Wandering further into the heart of the town, Harry came across a friendly seeming park and made the decision to get some rest before continuing his journey. Curling up on a rough and cold wooden bench, Harry soon fell into the deep embrace of slumber, regaining his energy reserves after the long and tiring day.

It was only early morning before he was awoken by the loud noises of cars and horns, along with the general bustling of the morning in the town. Blearily rubbing the sleep from his eyes, Harry surveyed his surroundings, noting that the park was sill empty in the early hours of the morning. Getting up, Harry concluded that his next port of call would need to be the local library so that he could research how he would achieve his crossing into France, along with learning what he could of the French Language.

After less than an hour of wandering, Harry was able to locate the local library that stood adjacent to the town hall and fortunately contained a large variety of books. Entering the library, Harry was met with a silent glare of disdain from the young librarian as she took in his appearance. After the day of travel and night on a bench without cleaning he was obviously not in a perfectly cleanly state, though adding his still overly baggy and torn clothes to the mix he looked definitively homeless.

Ignoring the mild look of disapproval, the likes of which he had seen much worse of, Harry settled down at a table after retrieving a couple books on the Channel Tunnel that connects England to the greater European continent and a book on learning the basics of French.

Spending the entire day tucked away in the shadowed corner of the library, pouring over the books, Harry was soon to lose himself in the fountain of knowledge offered between the bookshelves as he had done so often when at school.

Falling into a regular routine, Harry would attend the library every day, avoiding the librarian the best he could after she tried multiple times to get the 'filthy homeless runt' out of 'her library'. For food, Harry would subtly summon different things from vendor stands before and after attending the library without being noticed.

It took a few weeks before he decided on a plan, to take the public busses down to the station and then access the maintenance tunnels and race through them in his other form as fast as possible. Unable to see a way of gaining an actual ticket onto the trains and not wanting to be noticed by officials on the off chance of being taken back, Harry was set on his goal to reach France.

Furthermore, his studies of French had proved greatly fruitful, beyond his own expectations as he was almost fluent already, the language seeming to have come to him naturally as he could now read, write and, hopefully, speak the basics.

With his plans now fully prepared, Harry left the library late morning for once, taking with him a book on more advanced French dialect, not feeling guilty due to his treatment by the librarian throughout the past month and a half. Arriving at the intended bus stop, Harry stepped aboard just in time, before the bus made its departure. Walking straight by the driver, Harry was happy to have been overlooked, sparing himself the need for acquiring a ticket that would be far too unaffordable for a child with no money to their name.

Tucking himself in the furthest corner of the bus, Harry opened the book and lost himself in the words, finding peace between the pages, the likes of which he had so often resorted to in difficult times. Trading from bus to bus, luckily avoiding notice each time, even once when the driver had seemed to stare at him for a moment, by the time the sun dawned on the horizon the next day, Harry had arrived in the outskirts of London. After the hours of hopping from bus to bus, Harry had read a good portion of the book over and over, familiarizing himself further.

Gazing out of the bus finally, Harry was amazed by the massive buildings that towered around him, the likes of which he couldn't remember ever seeing, having not left Little Whining in his time there. Slowly stepping off the bus, Harry rubbed his eyes in disbelief before wandering down the already bustling street, using the agility he had gained from months in the forest to avoid being knocked over by each passing stranger that paid him no mind.

After over an hour of aimless walking, Harry soon found himself at a large river that seemed to run through the heart of the city, and from following it, he found himself at a large sign that held a blown-up map of the city. After a short while of analyzing the map from an uninstructive distance, Harry was able to locate both himself and his intended destination, orienting himself with respect to both.

It was therefore only reaching late morning when Harry finally arrived at the station for the train that would lead to the channel tunnel. Guiltily finishing off the bagel that he had snagged from a stall without notice, Harry crept onto the platform, locating the trains and their direction of travel. Therefore, with his next leg of the journey unveiled, Harry set out, following the tracks towards his goal.

Once again, the sun was setting on the horizon as Harry walked alongside the tracks, feeling worn down and exhausted having eaten little and slept less in the past 2 days. Curling up in his other form down from the tracks, Harry settled in for the night, claiming the rest his body demanded. Waking the next morning he moved off again, deciding it was best to stay in his normal form throughout the days in order to avoid the suspicion that might be aroused by his other form that he hadn't even heard of before.

The cycle continued with Harry getting only a little to eat when he shifted into his alternate form each night and possibly finding some nearby prey to consume. Having survived so much of his life in a malnourished state, Harry was easily able to rely on the other energy in his body to keep up his strength, especially now that he seemed far more in tune with it. Despite it sustaining him, Harry still felt wearier and weaker than he usually did, although not close to how utterly defeated he had felt under the Dursley's treatment.

It wasn't until over a week had passed of his travelling that Harry had finally arrived at his intended destination, the entrance to the channel tunnel. Despite having spent so long to find this place, Harry decided rest and a full stomach was more important then moving on at this stage. Therefore, he spent the afternoon hunting some rodents to eat which had seemed simple given how numerous they were around the dank tunnel entrances, then settled for the night feeling better than he had in a few days.

Now prepared for the next step, Harry got up before the crack of dawn the next morning and surveyed the entrance and maintenance area in order to figure out what he was going to do. It was at this point that he encountered his more significant problem. Whilst his research had been plentiful, Harry knew that his lack of access to food or water during the journey would have been a point of concern.

The food deficit he could counter with his internal energy making up the difference, but water was a more pressing issue and as tested in his time in the forest, it was a necessity regardless of his strengthening control of his powers. Resolving the issue, he had decided to make the 50 kilometer journey, that might take a person a few days, at which he couldn't survive without water, in his other form, hoping to take only a day or so at most. Unfortunately, his plan had not been made with regard to the small scale of the maintenance tunnels which meant if he assumed his other form he would have to do so in a far smaller size. As a result, he would be moving at a slower pace, at which he would not be guaranteed to make the trip in a short enough time.

Disheartened but far from throwing the towel in, Harry moved away from the area and back to the nearby trees, transforming back into his animal form. Laying on his front just inside the tree line, Harry gazed out through a small gap in the trees and looked over the landscape. Left there to his thoughts for hours, Harry was finally snapped from his musing when he caught sight of an eagle swooping to the ground, appearing to have caught a mouse between its sharp talons.

It was as he watched this that a thought sprung to Harry, blushing as best his form could when he realized how obvious it should have been. As of yet he hadn't attempted it, scared of being noticed and something or someone coming after him, Harry remembered that in this form he sported large and powerful wings.

Spreading them to his sides, he gave the pair of brilliant white wings a powerful and experimental flap, only to be rapidly lifted to his feet, amazed by his own strength. Pondering his situation, Harry concluded that without a doubt, flying would be the best way currently available for him to cross into France, the only problem, he didn't yet know how to fly.

Yet.

With steely determination in his bright green eyes, Harry concentrated on transforming into a smaller and less noticeable size. Once complete he was now only 2 feet tall and with a soft pounce was launched into the air, only to be supported when he gave a graceful beat of his wings. Accompanying the maintaining of his height, Harry was also launched forward at a rather fast speed, forcing him to swerve in order to escape the tree that he was approaching dead on.

Tilting to the side, Harry was able to miss the tree with another flap, only to be further accelerated and lifted slightly further off the ground. After several more near misses, Harry begun to gather the hang of his newfound flight, zooming between and around trees whilst controlling his height and speed to at least some extent.

Landing in what could only be referred to as a controlled crash Harry tumbled slightly although squawking in excitement as he stood back up. For the rest of the afternoon he practiced, begin careful to remain under the treetops and away from the edges of the small copse of trees. By the end of the day he could confidently say that he had taken to flying like eating, it had just felt so natural to him and the control of his actions took almost as little thought as breathing already. Despite his control, he still felt beat as his wings drooped slightly before he transformed back and even that didn't escape a general aching of every muscle in his body.

Yet again, determined to master his new skill, Harry buckled down for the next few days, mastering his flight and working on his speed and endurance. With breaks only taken for sleep, eating and reading more of his book on French linguistics, Harry found himself ready once more to attempt his journey to France, hopefully with more success than his previous false start.

Alike to his running, he had found that the larger the size he took in his animal form, the faster he was able to move, so with this in mind, Harry had chosen to fly up as far as he could before transforming to a larger size. Hopefully he could pull this off without falling from the sky and as such, avoid notice whilst reaching France quickly and being able to come back down in his smaller form once again to settle into his next adventure.

Kicking off the ground, now the size of a large house cat, Harry rapidly pumped his powerful wings, launching himself at a rapid pace into the sky above. Gaining altitude at an alarming rate, Harry soon lost his vision as he was enveloped in the thick white fog of the cloud bank. Soon to rise above it, Harry felt as if he'd entered a new world, drifting over the fluffy white clouds, surrounded by an air of tranquility with nothing but blue skies above.

Orienting himself in the correct direction, Harry beat his wings with a greater force than the soft flaps he was using to more or less hover in the air. Maintaining his altitude, Harry rapidly gained speed until he was moving faster than any other normal creature could manage in the air or on ground. Now that he had set out, Harry attempted the transformation into his larger form, glowing a bright gold as he grew to his full size of 5 and a half feet tall, with a wingspan of around 12 feet.

Increasing his speed again, Harry was quickly covering the distance between him and his destination and let out a brilliant song of glee as he relished a world so few could reach. Swooping into banks of clouds, Harry dipped his wings through the edges as he drifted from side to side, watching in amazement as the clouds were beaten away in the strong gusts each flap of his wings provided.

His previous estimates predicted the trip to take at least a good few hours, only pass over the water, then the rest of the day to reach somewhere closer to Paris, France's capital city. Instead, within less than an hour he once again spotted land flashing by beneath him through the gaps in cloud cover.

By the time the sun was setting, Harry had flown high above Paris already, using his now extremely accurate eyesight to inspect the city below, one that in his opinion possessed a beauty paralleled by little he had seen before. It had taken a good deal of his time to get to Paris, not due to his speed but rather the fact that to find it without inspection of maps he had chosen to follow the paths of greatest development below.

Having lost himself in his own amazement of the city below, by the time Harry had reduced his side and touched down in an inconspicuous alleyway, thoroughly exhausted from the journey, the sun was well on its way to setting. Emerging onto the bustling street, Harry followed the path he had planned out form the sky and was soon to find himself in front of the array of fountains that led up to the famous Eiffel Tower that he had seen so many images of. With the sun now below the horizon, Harry watched as light were lit up across the metal structure, looking like a beacon of joy as couples and families moved about him taking pictures and laughing together. Not allowing his own solitude to take away his happiness, Harry walked around, appreciating the magical sight around him. Walking over to a man that was selling different knickknacks and trinkets, Harry engaged the man in his first French conversation.

"How do you do?" Harry inquired tentatively, smile broadening as the man responded, obviously understanding him.

"Very well indeed young sir, a beautiful sight it makes does it not?"

"Yes, Its amazing. Like nothing I've ever seen." Harry said, a trace of awe still presents in his voice.

"It is why I moved to the great Paris, city of love. It holds a beauty like no other place I've seen. At least if you are in the right places."

Smiling, Harry nodded in agreement, soon wandering away, mind back in the present as he scoured the area for a place he could stay. It took him a fair while to locate a large park nearby that had a wide path running through it, housing many bench seats. Making one of these seats his home for the night, Harry curled in on himself, seeking warmth from the energy within him, smiling as a comforting heat spread through him.

As he closed his eyes with the faint traces of a smile still on his face, Harry fell into dreams of what was to come. Now he had to find others like him, and hopefully a place to stay before he could find his own place.

**Hello everybody, I hope you enjoyed the chapter and there's more to come**

**In the next chapter Harry will be learning about what his 'freakishness' really is and it will lead up to his admittance into Beauxbatons.**

**Thanks for reading and please leave a review, Until next Chapter :)**


	5. Chapter 4

Chapter 4:

Laughter filled the air as sunshine was splayed out through the leaves adorning the branches of the old trees that arched over the well-worn path. Children skipped and ran around the park as parents followed with a watchful gaze. Others walked by in a distracted and inattentive manner as they went off to their work for the day. On a bench that was tucked away down a side path in a small flower filled garden, a 7 year old boy woke from his deep slumber, slowly acknowledging his current situation as words of French filtered from the path and the powerful aromas of nearby flowers was made apparent.

Rolling himself off the bench and onto his feet, Harry surveyed his surroundings far better than he could the night before. Seeing the wide array of bright and colourful flowers around him, Harry smiled, looking forward to what was to come in the coming days.

After making his way out of the park Harry began wandering down the winding streets of the seemingly endless city, going unnoticed due to his ragged clothing and small size compared to the bustling adults around him. After finding himself a small breakfast consisting of a bread roll he had nicked off a café table whilst the occupants attention was elsewhere, Harry set about his self-imposed task of finding others like him, concluding that in a city of this populace there must be at least somewhere else like him.

As he walked through the streets, Harry calmed himself, removing all thoughts from his head as he stretched out his energy in order to discover other sources of it. As he did so, Harry could get a general sense of what was around him, even with his eyes closed, as it felt as though the energy that was flowing about him was interacting with dull objects and surfaces. Not knowing what to expect, Harry resolved to continue his wandering until something stood out.

It was by the middle of the day that Harry came across a small building that had a symbol prominently displayed of a white 'i' in a circle in front of a blue square. Harry entered the building as he was drawn in by the map displayed across the window, deciding that it would be far more effective if he could search an area and then mark it off on a map so that he didn't return to the same place more than once.

Subtly acquiring the fold-out map brochure along with one of the complimentary pens, Harry left before being noticed by any on the occupants. After retracing and marking off the places he had been, Harry began methodically covering every inch of the city that he could.

Whilst surviving off of the meagre amounts of food Harry could nick from places he passed by and sleeping on benches tucked away inside the many small parks littered throughout the streets, Harry spent the next two weeks scouring the streets, not once finding anything out of the ordinary, further discouraged by the fact that he didn't know if there was anything to find or if his method of finding it would actually succeed.

Regardless, given how far he had come already, Harry didn't give a thought to throwing the towel in, pushing on to scour each alleyway and dead end of the city he had already covered a great portion of. It was this dedication that led to Harry finally receive at least some form of result. It was only a moment, almost short enough to be dismissed as nothing, but as Harry weaved through a crowd of people on one of the busier streets, he felt his energy pick something up.

Rather than the usual feeling of his surroundings being bland and dull under his energy, whatever this was, he felt a spike of foreign energy that his own couldn't pass through or close to. It had passed to quickly to have been a nearby object, filling Harry with hope that it had been one of the other people passing in the other direction. Deciding that was all he was going to find for that day as the un was already passing beyond the horizon, Harry quickly scavenged himself some food before settling down in on a bench that was near the spot where someone had passed.

Walking up at the crack of dawn once more, Harry narrowed his chosen search area for that day to spiraling out from his current location in hopes of tracking down that source of foreign energy he had felt the day before. Much to his glee, Harry found far greater success that day than he had beforehand, Finding the same energy passing him multiple times in large crowds and recording the direction that they were heading.

After reviewing the notes on is map that afternoon as he sat on one of the outside tables of a café that had been kind enough to allow him to stay, even giving him a glass of water, Harry looked for a pattern. Through his work he was able to discern that there was a central location that people were often heading towards early in the day and away from later, although there were some irregularities that he disregarded. Using this, Harry devised a general area consisting of 4 separate city blocks within which the place that these people were coming form and going to was.

Using this information, the next day, Harry scoured the streets of these blocks and was excited to find more and more people with foreign energy filling the crowds and it was that afternoon that he made his big discovery. Down one of the side streets was a beautiful area of shops and cafes, but one of the sets of stairs that led down into the area from the road, that held a metal statue of a sitting lady, was being avoided by most people, almost as if they didn't know it was there. Approaching the statue, Harry found that it a feeling that he hadn't felt before, Unlike the other sources of energy that seemed to repel his own, the object held a foreign energy within, one that he could seem to feel as his own passed over it.

He was shocked then when a man in a heavy coat pushed past him towards the statue, sporting an attitude of superiority and self-importance in his arrogant posture that shouted to his surroundings that he thought of them as dirt on his feet. The man then touched the side of the statue only for it to come to life and pull its metal dress away for the man to then walk through the stone atop which she sat that was usually covered.

The man's attitude was quickly pushed out of Harry's mind by what he had just seen done in front of him. None of the people passing below or above on the streets seemed to give it a second thought, seeming to the world as if they didn't even see it, but Harry stood there with his mouth hanging open.

It was then that a kind looking young woman took hold of his arm softly and smiled at him as he was knocked from his trance.

"Did you get left behind? Must be your first-time young man, I myself couldn't close my mouth as I saw her move my first time here." The woman spoke in her native tongue, voice filled with warmth and mirth, easing Harry's unrest, "Magic is a truly wonderful thing, but don't stop here, it's even more wonderful on the other side."

A single thought ran through Harry's mind at this, _'Magic!'_, it almost seemed obvious as Harry remembered the stories he had heard Petunia tell Dudley through the walls as he held his ear to the stairs when he was younger. Again and again the word bounced around his head as he thought of everything he had done and how in many ways it fit in with those stories.

Going through all he knew so far, Harry thought of 'The Tale of Three Brothers' that he had enjoyed so much and the other stories that he had read in that book and how real it had all seemed, _'Was that a book written by these people. His people.'_, breaking from his stunned stupor once more, Harry turned looked in the woman's warm, forest green eyes that seemed to be growing with concern due to his unresponsive nature.

"Yeah, it is amazing" Harry let out breathlessly as he looked back to the statue, then realizing what she had said he went on, "C-could you take me to the other side." Harry asked as he looked down at his feet, unused to anyone paying him more than a moments attention without abusing him in some way or another.

"Of course." The woman said with a smile that matched the warmth of her eyes and her voice, gently grasping his hand with her own delicate, smooth hand, lightly pulling him forward.

Harry was awed by the kindness this stranger had shown him and his heart filled with joy as his eyes watered slightly but he was quick to follow her towards the statue rather than once again being lost from the world in his own thoughts.

Following her instructions of just walking forwards as if there was nothing in his way without question, Harry found himself appearing on the other side that seemed identical as far as the statue was concerned but that was where the similarities seemed to taper off. Down the stairs was a bustling street of people in strange robe like clothes as well as others in regular clothing. There were a couple cafes that had people outside it, but their food seemed to float over to them. There were stores that had animals in them for sale like owls, toads and mice, but there were also weird looking dogs with two tails and strange looking cats amongst other things.

Further down the street there was a store labelled _'salon de potion puissant'_, translating to 'Potent Potions Parlor', from which there were cauldrons and ladles on sale amongst a huge variety of strange looking ingredients to be added into what he must assume were potions of some sort. Others stores seemed to be selling odd looking candies that children were laughing about eating as they made faces, some with steam or smoke billowing from their ears or making animal noises after eating them, others floating off the ground only for a friend to pull them down.

There was also a store that prominently displayed the _'Nimbus 1980'_, with a sign talking about what was said to be 'The fastest racing broom on the market, equipped with state of the art turning and cushioning features'. Seeing the moving images of people flying about making sharp corners, and some passing balls between them excited Harry at the thought of how much fun he could have with his powers amongst other people like him.

Many other stores littered the street selling different wares, much of which he had no chance of understanding, having never seen anything of such sort. Before he could continue to peruse the street from his spot on the stairs he was interrupted by a soft hand on his shoulder, causing him to look up into the face of the woman who had helped him through.

"Thank you, madam." Harry said as Petunia had instructed him to and attempted to teach Dudley to when speaking to other women, although he had learnt the French himself.

"Quite alright young man, it is a pleasure to know some still have their manners about them. Would you like a hand finding your family?" She asked as she squeezed his shoulder softly.

Harry was still amazed by the kindness someone he had never met was showing him, a level of caring he had only witnessed previously. Then he remembered the question and let out a slightly panicked answer, hoping he wouldn't be thrown out of this new world, "Uh, I'm okay, I'm sure I'll find the soon."

"Very well, I might see you around, I run a little café around the corner called, _'Madam Alarie's'_, feel free to drop by, I'd love to meet such a kind chap's parents. I must be off now to open up." She finished before giving his shoulder a last squeeze before joining the crowds as she headed down the street and around the corner.

Walking down through the streets, Harry was trapped in his own mind as he thought about whether his parents were a part of this world and if they might have one day visited here as a family and he would be racing off to find them again after talking to the kind woman.

As a lone tear trickled down his cheek, harry wiped it off, bringing his mind back to the present as he looked up to find a bold and imposing building that seemed to be the central hub of the area, a golden placard proudly boasting the title of _'Gringotts Bank' _with _'Head French Branch'_ under it in smaller font. Walking over to one of the columns, Harry placed one of his hands on the large marble pillar that supported part of the section of roof that hung over the entrance, reminding him of images he had seen of ancient Greek structured in the library at school.

Despite the cool, solid feel of the marble, there was something more to it as Harry could feel his energy, '_his Magic'_ he reminded himself, respond to within it, like it was even stronger than it appeared. Stepping back from the building, sensing that it would draw to much attention if he were to enter the building only adults seemed to go in and out of, Harry moved back to his wandering.

Throughout the day he was able to learn a great deal about the world from different things he read and picked up from conversations other had nearby. Unfortunately, the sun was soon to set on this miraculous day and Harry didn't want to leave the place he had found, even though he had marked it down on his map.

Therefore he spent the evening continuing his wandering, seeming to find endless new things to explore, only slightly put off by the fact that many people seemed to look at him with thinly veiled disgust, something he was used to, and the other children avoided him like the plague, seeing his disheveled appearance. Unfortunately, nothing lasted forever, and Harry was soon witness to the spectacle of store owners using their magic to pack away the shops at a speed and efficiency others couldn't hope to match.

Not knowing what to do, Harry sat down on one of the curbs that was out of the way and reflected on all he learnt. From what he had seen everyone using magic seemed to use their wands, just like the three brothers from the book. Magic also seemed to be hidden from the outside world and the others without it were called 'muggles', whilst he himself was known as a wizard and females were witches.

He also learnt from other children's chatter that there was a magical school that everyone from France went to where they learnt to use their magic, and from the complaining he found that you weren't supposed to use magic outside of the school until you were an adult and could only attend the school once you reached eleven.

Despite this, Harry refused to give up what now defined him as who he was and what he believed connected him to his parents, now firmly believing that they were a part of this world at one stage.

He also learnt a little more about how this world worked and that there was a Ministry of Magic for each nation and a Minister running it amongst other politicians. There were also aurors who enforced the rules that were set for people like them. Further chatter down one of the less travelled, darker seeming alleys revealed that there had been a war some stage in the recent past that some men were talking about, saying that 'we came so close to defeat, I think we ought to build an army to protect us next time' which seemed part of the debate they were having over the issue. The men also said that the war had taken place primarily in Britain but with riots and attacks scattered across the mainland, and that if Britain, which is considered the center of the magical power and community for the Eastern Hemisphere, fell, the entirety of Europe would soon follow.

Despite the trove of knowledge that their discussion seemed to hold, Harry was soon to leave as he saw some of the other large men bustling about with scowls that seemed like permanent fixtures adorning their faces.

Focusing back on his situation, Harry saw how the streets were almost entirely empty now with only the stragglers leaving back to their homes now, and all the tables chairs and other adornments had been removed from the streets. Now troubled for a place to rest for the night, Harry concluded he would have to bear with the cold, hard ground for the night, not that he hadn't experienced worse, much worse.

As Harry curled up in one of larger streets just off the main streets, he tucked himself into the shadows of what seemed to be an empty store, wanting to avoid any notice. As he was trying to quell the shivers that permeated his body on the cold winter's night, Harry watched the last store closing, with the chairs and tables floating inside and blinds falling. The soft glow of candles inside now only lit the streets through the thin slits in the blinds and faintly illuminated the soft pink-painted wood that the quaint shop seemed to be made from.

He heard the pleasant chime of a bell ringing as the door opened for the shop keeper to have a quick look out onto the street where her things had been set up. Seeming satisfied with what they had observed the door moved to close, only stopping suddenly as it was halfway shut.

Swinging back open the owner made their way out of the shop as they pulled their winter coat tightly around them, the days warmth having given way to a biting chill. As Harry curled more tightly in on himself, pushing into the shadows encasing him, and thanking his magic for his own meager warmth at the moment, he hoped he hadn't been spotted.

Such hope was quashed as the owner walked directly towards him. Whimpering slightly as thoughts of this stranger attacking him like Petunia would after approaching him at such a stride, Harry closed his eyes and if possible, closed tighter in on himself, as if it would hide him from the world.

He was therefore shocked when the owner stopped before him and crouched there before extending a soft hand to place on his shoulder. Looking up at the person who had touched him, Harry heard a slight gasp as his fearful expression shocked the person he now identified as the woman who had helped him earlier.

With the comfort of the previous encounter to quell his fearful thoughts, Harry's face drained of its fear much to the lady's relief. Speaking softly, she addressed the young boy she'd found curled up in the cold with only baggy clothes to keep him warm.

"Hello again little man, did you get lost again?" She asked in a kind voice.

Not trusting himself to speak, Harry shook his head almost violently, his actions provoking the woman to speak again, "Then where are they? What are you doing out in the cold alone?" She asked, seeming almost frightened of the answer she would receive.

Not knowing precisely why, maybe because of the kindness he had received at the woman's hand that he hadn't felt before, or maybe the words provoking certain thoughts, Harry's eyes began to tear up as for the first time in a while he cried, he cried for his lost family, for the family he never truly had, for his answer to why he was out in the cold alone.

Never had Harry felt so lost before, not even in his self-imposed solitude in the forest, Harry was surrounded by families and happiness all day, and now everyone had returned to their homes, but he was lost and alone.

Gasping in shock the lady didn't understand what was going on, but she felt a deep pain in her heart as the boy shuddered with silent tears as if afraid of what would happen if he cried aloud. Unable and unwilling to stop herself, she wrapped her arms around the boy, noting how cold he was as he shook from both his despair and the cold.

Kneeling on the ground with Harry in her arms, she was unknowingly giving the child the first act of love or true caring he had ever in memory received, only provoking further agonizing tears.

Not knowing what was truly going on, the lady simply realized that the child needed someone and she would jump in front of a killing curse before she left him out here alone, and so she picked up the boy who felt a fair stone off of a comfortable weight, carrying him into her shop.

On she went up the stairs into her home above, placing the boy onto the couch just in front of her softly glowing fireplace as she pulled the blanket off the back of the couch to cover the boy, a blanket she had often curled up under herself on cold nights as it was enchanted to be impossibly soft and provided a perfect warmth. Smiling at the boy who had drifted off to sleep with the tension eased from his face, the lady acknowledged how little she knew of what she had just gotten into but by simply looking at the boy her heart seemed to both swell and ache and she swore to herself to make sure he was going to be ok.

Doing so, she didn't realize what she had committed to, but even if she knew of hardships to come, she would never once turn back with regret over her choice, but rather only with whole-hearted happiness and joy.

**Thank you all for reading and I hope you enjoyed it.**

**Please leave a Review.**

**Hopefully it wont be too long till the next chapter so I'll see you then :)**


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